Table Of ContentRADICAL THEOLOGIES
AND PHILOSOPHIES
LIMBO REAPPLIED
On Living in Perennial Crisis
and the Immanent Afterlife
KRISTOF K. P. VANHOUTTE
Radical Theologies and Philosophies
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Department of Sociology
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Michael Zbaraschuk
Pacifc Lutheran University
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Radical Theologies and Philosophies is a call for transformational theolo-
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Kristof K. P. Vanhoutte
Limbo Reapplied
On Living in Perennial Crisis and the Immanent
Afterlife
Kristof K. P. Vanhoutte
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa
and
Pontifcal University Antonianum
Rome, Italy
Radical Theologies and Philosophies
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To you two
Valentina and Sofa
Always
Preface
In 1947, the famous French publishing house Gallimard issued the
remarkable book Exercises de Style by Raymond Queneau. That this
book, which reminds of Erasmus’s rhetoric textbooks De duplici copia
rerum ac verborum commentarii duo from the beginning of the sixteenth
century, is remarkable can be deduced from the simple fact that it con-
tains 99 different versions of the same story. The plot consists of a hum-
drum encounter between a man, the ‘main character’, and a stranger,
whom he meets a second time that same day; the frst encounter is on
a bus and the second one at the Saint-Lazare station. Besides it having
probably been a rather fun accomplishment, it is above all a masterly
exploit and ‘an experiment in the philosophy of language’ (Queneau
1981, 14) by the hand of Queneau. He, as Barbara Wright so correctly
remarked in her introduction to the original English translation (1958),
‘pushes language around in a multiplicity of directions to see what will
happen’ (Queneau 1981, 14). ‘Pushing around to see what will happen;’
few combinations of words (bad as they might sound—and probably
will also be interpreted by some) could have better described the chore
attempt of this book.
The noun ‘exercise’ used in Queneau’s title is, however, not applicable
to the type of text that you, reader, are holding in your hands. For this
particular type of text, the French language has another precise word (a
word that is considered in French as a synonym of exercise—but that is
more than anything merely a closely related word). This word is essai,
an essay, and it derives from the verb essayer which means to try, or to
vii
viii PREFACE
attempt. The Larousse, the famous French dictionary/institution, defnes
the essay as a book (a text) containing various ideas regarding a specifc
subject that it does not pretend to exhaust. That an essay does not pre-
tend to exhaust the ideas it treats is simply because it attempts to test
this or that quality of this or that specifc subject—pushing it around to
see what will happen. Basically, the essay, and thus this study as well, is a
written non-exhaustive check and control of the functioning of the pre-
cise subject at hand that, as an attempt, allows the author of the essayistic
feature, to return to its topic further along her/his life’s road (to give
it another go) if he/she so desires. The attempt might fail, but if the
author brings it to a conclusion that generally means he/she is convinced
that it has not. For as much though as it will be brought to a fruitful
conclusion, the nature of the essay does not exclude that other and very
diverse attempts on dealing with the same specifc subject can succeed as
well.
As can be seen, what is at stake in an essay, and as such also in this
work, is a rather fragile integrity that—probably contrary to what is gen-
erally considered and understood—does absolutely not allow for the
minimum of relaxation or lack of attention and strictness. Furthermore,
being precisely something ‘incomplete’, it also requires full participa-
tion, and even in-depth participation, from the reader. That the nature
of the essay is so highly demanding of author (and reader) is not only
related to its fragile nature. It also regards the fact that, more often than
not, essays turn out to become easy ‘victims’ of partisan judgments.
Rendering explicit from the very beginning that a text will not treat its
subject in an exhaustive way—while acknowledging also immediately
that a similar text can never be considered as fnished and that the author
might even come back to it in the future, maybe even to say that he
was wrong all along—can and will easily be misunderstood (even by the
brainy scholar). This was also already the case with Queneau’s Exercises.
From the very beginning were they considered by some as ‘an attempt to
demolish literature’ (Queneau 1981, 15) which was neither the author’s
intention nor the actuality result of the Exercises. That this can occur is,
however, mostly known by the author.
This acknowledgment should, however, not necessarily be considered
as a lack or defciency of a text. In fact, the exact contrary can and should
be argued for. If anything, recognizing these aspects is a rendering
explicit of the awareness that a text based on study can never truly fnish
or end. St. Thomas, the Angelical doctor and one of the greatest minds
PREFACE ix
humanity has ever brought forth (he will also help us to understand the
concept of Limbo), seems to be hinting at something similar when he
confded to his secretary that everything he had ever written and taught
was but pure foolishness. And a similar realization is phrased by an old
Sigmund Freud in his melancholic acknowledging that therapy and edu-
cation (study) are interminable. Considering these affrmations, and the
many others one could bring forth, as gloomy thoughts that accompany
the process of dying or could even constitute cases of false humility is
missing the point. Texts, maybe all but certainly essayistic ones, will
always remain exercises and attempts. Some will be good, others less, but
avoiding the delusion of having offered ‘a fnished product’ can but be
considered, at least that is what we feel, as a very good and honest point
to start. (It is also a registration into a certain philosophical tradition—
ready to betray it—but we are certain the reader will discover this on
her/his own in due time.)
This text fnds its origin in a presentation given back in 2014 at the
University of St. Gall in Switzerland. The lecture was given during a
symposium organized by the Swiss Philosophical Association that had as
its theme: Kritik und Krise (Critic and Crisis). The basic ideas that gov-
ern the pages that follow were already present in their embryonic state in
the original text. The ‘embryo’, however, has since passed various grow-
ing phases and prangs, becoming a muscled adult. And as it goes with all
births, some ‘original’ parts get lost along the road while others come
along to change what was considered originally as the direction to take.
A number of people have been directly or indirectly involved in a vari-
ety of ways in the process of realization of this book; I am, obviously, the
only person responsible for all the possible remaining weaknesses. These
people are, frst of all, my philosopher friends and friends in philoso-
phy. The frst to mention is necessarily Carlo Salzani, whose continuous
dedication to this project has been truly humbling. Thank you Carlo!
Second, there are the group of people with whom I share the research
adventure called The Small Circle; they are Christo Lombaard, Iain
T. Benson, and Calvyn du Toit (Carlo is also a part of this exciting enter-
prise). I have also received very helpful assistance, references, or stimula-
tion from too large a number of colleagues to name them all. Some need
to be mentioned by name, however, and they are: Jackie Du Toit, Father
Gianluca Montaldi, Lancelot Kirby, Jonathan Rée (who got me think-
ing about the spatial implications of what it was I was writing about),
Fra. Ernesto Dezza (you have safeguarded the medieval scholars), Fra.
x PREFACE
Stéphane Oppes, Benjamin McCraw, Christopher Beiting, and Father
Johannes Maria Schwarz. The frst person who published me and who
has ever since remained a driving force, Marco Cardinali, also needs a
special mentioning. Katrin Meyer and Hubert Schnüriger from the
University of Basel also need explicit thanks. They allowed me to pres-
ent a series of chapters at the seminar in political philosophy they organ-
ized. Jan Müller, Domink Renner, and Dominique Haab, who offered
critical comments during and after the seminar, also need thanks. The
two nameless reviewers from Palgrave also need a special mention as they
did offer very helpful comments. Great gratitude also goes to my edi-
tor Philip Getz, who believed in this project from the very beginning—
thanks. Philip’s right hands, Alexis Nelson in the beginning and Amy
Invernizzi afterward, have always been there to help, thanks for your
professionality. Sofe Vanhoutte needs to be mentioned as well, thanks
soeure, you know why. Finally, Udo and Geinsson need a very special
mentioning. Without their willingness to sell their little paradise, half
of this book would not have been written in one of the most beautiful
places I have ever worked.
Basel, Switzerland Kristof K. P. Vanhoutte
